Passion For God — Philippians 2

0:00 So good to be back on a rainy Sunday. I will take it though, right? We've had such drought, it's unbelievable. And we'll take the rain. It's really interesting.

0:19 I think to myself, know, name is Chris Schroeder. I'm six'five and a half. When I was in ninth grade I was six'two and then I grew an inch and a half. No, excuse me, ninth grade I was six'two, six'four as a senior and then when I went to college I grew an inch and a half. So as a freshman in college I was six five and a half.

0:44 My pants, I just could not stay in pants, the London pants like crazy. And I played basketball. Absolutely was my god until I trusted Christ as my personal savior. I played basketball like crazy. I mean, that was it.

1:00 I didn't even... I I said to my mom one time, it was my senior year in high school, and I said... She goes, well, who are you going to the prom with? They were in California. They had just moved to California and I was finishing my senior year at Willoughby South and they said, my mom said, were you going to the prom with us?

1:20 I said, we're not going to the prom, I'm playing basketball. She goes, no you're not. She gave me $90 to go to the prom. It was just really weird, know. So basketball had a significant thing in my life.

1:38 I mean, it really was. It was just really crazy. I really loved basketball and I always was a Boston Celtic fan. They didn't have a team when I was growing up here in Cleveland. They had the Barons or something.

1:56 I forget what they had. They had some team but there was no NBA team here so we were... I was a Boston Celtic fan. And when they got the Cleveland Cavaliers, that was interesting. We actually did a basketball clinic.

2:10 I played for Lakeland Community College in the Cleveland Cavaliers where we were the the team that had as the Cleveland Cavaliers moved through their stuff with Bill Fitch and we did all that kind of stuff, we were the opposition team. It was just really weird. But they called the Cleveland Cavaliers in those days the Cleveland Cadavers and because they were a bunch of stiffs and it was just really, really bad. So when the Cavaliers got Nate Thurman, they got Johnny Egan, they got all these different guys of who you've probably gone, Who? These guys were great, great ball players.

2:49 They actually started winning games and they made the playoffs that year and they were in the quarter finals, which was incredible. The Cavaliers, they played at the Richfield Coliseum, not the Gun Arena, and even the Jake or the Progressive Field wasn't even there at that time. So they played at the Richfield Coliseum, which held about 18,000 people. And I went to a game one time, and you could hear... You couldn't even hear yourself.

3:19 The screamings... 18,000 people screaming. It was just... You know, you couldn't hear yourself think. And so when the Cavaliers played the Washington...

3:29 The then Washington Bullets, now they're the Wizards. Maybe some of you remember this. This was in the late, mid seventies or something like that. And Cleveland was going crazy. They went crazy.

3:43 I mean, they went out of their minds. My wife, who is so laid back, was that, you know, we're listening to it on the radio and she's going, Go Cavaliers, go Cavaliers. That's Barb was doing this. And it was just so not characteristic of Barb, but it just was just... But she was a fan, you know?

4:01 And and there's a seventh game deciding game of the of the... It's a seventh and deciding game of the cap... Cavaliers versus the bullet in the quarterfinals. Whoever wins this game goes on in the eastern eastern conference finals and plays the Boston Celtics. And then whoever wins that series, the best of seven goes on and into the NBA finals.

4:28 It just it just was just incredible. So you've got the the... It was fever pitched, you know. Can you imagine this now? Just think about it.

4:36 Five guys going down and putting a ball through a hoop and 18,000 people going out of their minds. And then another... And then going down and then... You know? My friend John Gorman.

4:53 Now if you... If you've ever met John Gorman, he's he's been here a few times, but six six four, two thirty five, played flanker back for the University of Louisville. He was one of a blue chipper, all Ohio in two sports. I mean, the tough... One of the toughest guys I ever met in my life.

5:10 And John Gorman, you know, he just... He's not... You know, he's kinda reserved kinda guy. I mean, he... I mean, he's one of the best athletes I've ever met.

5:19 And, you know, he was at the game, the seventh game. I mean, you know, he was at that seventh game. And so he's sitting in this chair. He's sitting in this chair like this. The guy's head, it's in the nosebleeds section.

5:33 I mean, it's definitely... The the the court looks like a postage stamp almost. Oh, maybe a postcard. Okay? And then so...

5:40 And he's like this, and the guy's sitting... Guy's right here. His head's right here between his leg, you know, right there. And that's that's... It's like this.

5:48 You know, you can't walk out without having a parachute or something. You're getting a lifeline on here or something. And it's just a just a tough area. And so he's he's sitting there and they were going crazy because the cavaliers, can you believe this, won the game. They won the game and they went on to play the Boston Celtics and lost.

6:12 And and it was... They they actually they actually won the game. And so they they... He he said it was just deafening. They were going out of their minds.

6:24 Screaming. Unbelievable. There was a guy three rows down. Now you have to understand this. This guy must have been some leaper because he hopped three rows.

6:37 This guy, three rows down, John was telling me about this, guy jumped three rows up. Now it's like this. That's that's that's defying gravity. This guy jumped three rows, did not introduce himself to my friend John, but hugged him. And they're in the aisle going, ah, we won.

7:01 I just cannot imagine John Gorman doing that with a total stranger, let alone a friend. You know, I just can't imagine they're just going crazy out of their minds. And I thought to myself, well, that's passion. That's real passion. And I think it's a little misplaced, but I think that's passion.

7:49 My brother understands that. And we understand that. We we look at this we look at this situation where we have Walter Conkai giving us body counts of Vietnam. And then also the images, you know, helicopters and guys getting off and all this kind of stuff and you think, wow. Wow.

8:08 You had Chet Huntley and David Brinkley and all these different guys bringing Vietnam right into our... Plus we got magazines, Life Magazine. I never forget the image. We had black and white. We had a black and white television.

8:24 I didn't have color until I was married in a whole bunch of years. And I'll never forget seeing a Buddhist monk in the center of a of a, what do you call, intersection in Saigon with a gas can right next to him. He took the gas can and dumped it on himself and lit himself on fire, this Buddhist monk with his robes and the flames wafting in the wind as he dies right before everybody in protest. It was horrid. Life magazine had it on their cover with the flames as the wind was blowing the flames.

9:05 The flames would be out, you know, like a scarf coming out like that. I'd say that's passion. Misplaced, but I say it's passion. I don't think the church today needs another computer program. I don't think we need another translation.

9:40 And I'm not sure about the commentaries. What the church needs most today, those things are beautiful and wonderful. But what the church needs today is a good dose of passion. Well placed. I'd like us to look at a passage of scripture that I think will speak to this.

10:04 Will speak to this issue of passion. And it's the life of Paul. And it's it's Romans chapter one. I think Romans chapter one more than any other passage is going to reflect for us the passion of this man named Saul of Tarsus, now named Paul. It's interesting, this this individual.

10:27 When we talk about the life of Paul, I mean, you know, we have to go through that he was a pharisee of the pharisee. He was he was a Jew. He was a pharisee of the pharisee. He was an individual who said about himself that he was he was so zealous for the things of God. He didn't want anybody anybody disrespecting.

10:48 We we say disson God. Right? Disrespecting God. They want anybody disrespecting God. So when this this new group came into being, this group called Christians, he wanted to put them out.

11:01 In fact, he said he said to him... He said... Tells us that he made havoc of the church. That is to say he went... The word havoc is used in the Greek, used of a wild boar with razor sharp tusks.

11:15 If you think you can outrun a boar, you're wrong. You think you're even got good twitching quick muscles and all that kind of stuff? You're wrong. You're not gonna outrun those guys. They'll close on you.

11:26 The 40 yard dash, you're dead. They'll trample you and then cut you to ribbons. Those wild boars are... I mean, I don't wanna be one myself, a boar to you. But those boars are really...

11:39 They're like you said, well, they're cute little pigs. No, they're not. They're like 600, 800 pounds. These things will rip you apart. He said, I made havoc of the church.

11:50 The word havoc is used of a wild boar taking its strong snout and razor sharp tusks and not only in his heavy weight and trampling the vineyard, but taking his and ripping up the roots. This is Paul using that of himself to say, I want... I made havoc of the church. I wanted to destroy the church. So much so that he had guys, he had writs of arrestment that he would go and arrest individuals, put them in prison, watch them die, watch them get stoned to death.

12:24 He's standing there and watching Steven get stoned to death. They... He held the cloaks and they put the cloaks, they took the jackets off so they could really nail Stephen. And Stephen standing or kneeling there and the Lord as he's getting pummeled with rocks, being stoned to death, saying, father, forgive them. They know not what they do.

13:01 And as in on his way to Damascus, the Lord speaks to him. Now understand Paul. Paul is, I mean, Saul of Tarsus, this guy's brilliant. Arguably, I think you can arguably say he may be a genius. One of the smartest men in Israel, probably being groomed to be the teacher of Israel, had the first five books, a Pharisee of the Pharisee, had the first five books of the new...

13:26 Of the of the Bible, the Torah, the law, probably memorized and whole portions of the rest of it, the law, the prophets, and the writings had them memorized. This guy was a brilliant, absolutely brilliant and zealous for the things of God. Right? This is this guy. Now he's knocked off his horse, if you please.

13:54 He's... Goes blind. He says, who are you, Lord? I am Jesus whom you persecute. Can you imagine how it broke across his soul?

14:04 First of all, that he got saved, that he trusted Jesus as his Messiah. Secondly, the regret that came into his heart and his mind. Also making connections through the whole Old Testament and finding in the whole Old Testament that these were being fulfilled in this person named Jesus, whom he was persecuting. Just incredible. And being blind for three days, he's in the...

14:36 He's in his blindness for three days. I don't think he slept. I don't think he's going, oh, wow, wonderful time to relax. I think he was going through his mind all the faces that he had committed. I think he had in his mind all the verses.

14:50 Genesis forty nine forty nine ten, I... Micah five two, Isaiah seven fourteen, Psalm sixteen ten, going through all these different... Psalm 22, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And he's going through this and finding those verses being fulfilled in Jesus, in his mind, and the horror that he had in his heart that he said to him, probably said to himself, how did I miss this? How did I miss this?

15:26 And so for three days, he was in that state and the faces of these people who who didn't miss it, and I had him killed and had him incarcerated. And now, knowing the forgiveness of God, knowing the incredible love of God is found in Jesus, I think he had passion. I think he had incredible passion. And I think it's reflective in these verses. Look at verses chapter one, Romans chapter one verse 13.

16:07 We'll go through 17. Actually, we'll go through... Yeah, we'll go through 17. It says, now I would not have you ignorant brethren that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, but you were... But was prevented thus far that I might have some fruit among you also even among other Gentiles.

16:29 I am debtor, both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. So as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation that everyone, to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek for it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. This passage shows us three characteristics of Paul's ministry that I really believe we need to incorporate into our lives. Three characteristics of this ministry that I want in my life.

17:14 I want this in my life. First of all, he said he was debtor. The first characteristic he said, I am debtor. So Paul was deader. In verse 15, we see that's verse 14.

17:28 Paul was deliberate in verse 15. I'm ready to preach. And then Paul was dedicated. I'm not ashamed, verses sixteen and seventeen. Paul was debtor.

17:40 Paul was debtor. And I firmly believe that he was first debtor to the Lord. I firmly believe that he was debtor to the Lord. You know, it's interesting to me as as we look at look at this. We sang this morning at the breaking of bread, which is so beautiful.

17:58 What a beautiful thing to break bread and to remember what Jesus Christ has done for us. Right? And we sang a song. Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe.

18:14 Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. I think if Paul was here and saying that with us, I think he'd be sobbing. I really do. I have a friend of mine.

18:27 He's with the Lord. His name is John Jeffers. And John... I stood with John. John was a silver star winner.

18:36 He he didn't win it. He was given it as a recipient for saving five men in the Philippine chains. He was one of five guys in his company that survived the landing. And this guy, they had five guys behind the enemy lines, behind the enemy lines. And John Jeffers by himself with the help of other guys, some other guys, crawled over this embankment and then came down, grabbed one guy and hauled him back and did it five different times.

19:13 And for that heroism, they awarded him the silver star. Which was one one or two below... Yeah, two below the congressional medal of honor. I stood with John Jeffers at a memorial day picnic in New Jersey. And every year at that picnic, they have it every year, every year at that picnic, they play taps in honor of those troops that have given their lives.

19:44 And John stood there and wept like a baby unashamed. I mean, didn't... He didn't... Just little tears coming down his face. He sobbed.

19:52 He sobbed. And I think to myself, if if Paul was here and we were singing Jesus paid it all, I think that I think that Paul would have sobbed. I think that Paul would have been right there just and I maybe on his face sobbing of knowing the depth of the love of God for his life in the midst of his unbelievable self righteous sin. And how much God cared for him and loved him. And I think he was debtor to the Lord.

20:52 Right? And then he gives three illustrations. The guy that goes to war and builds a building and then salt. Right? And what's the point of those illustrations?

21:01 The point of those illustrations, it was all or nothing. See, for us Christians, when we trust Christ as our personal savior, it is all or nothing. None in terms of us going to heaven or not. That's already settled if we've received Christ as our savior. But what he wants for...

21:20 From us is that we would give everything to him that he rightfully owns. What? No. You're not. Your body is a temple of the holy spirit whom you have of god and you are not your own.

21:33 You've been bought with a price. For us to hold back on God is sin. It's not marginal. It's not well, you know, that's just a guy who's a great... Or a gal who's a really a really zealous Christian.

21:48 No. It's sin if we hold back on God. See, I think with Saul of Tarsus, now Paul, It wasn't a... You know, mean he was looking... He wasn't looking at Christianity as as just a just a a thing that really helps me and benefits me.

22:11 It's life. It's a total life. It's absolutely a total life. And so I think when he when he, you know, it's all or nothing in terms of our commitment to Christ. Now, that's not...

22:25 I'm not saying that, you know, if if you hold back on god that you're not going to heaven. I'm not saying that. The way a person gets to heaven is when you believe on the lord Jesus Christ as your own personal savior. Recognizing that you cannot save yourself from your own sin. Recognizing that Jesus Christ is god in the flesh, that he did die on that cross, that he did shed his blood to wash away our sins and then that three days later rose again physically from the dead and when we believe on him, we pass from death unto life immediately, John five twenty four.

23:01 But then now the discipleship takes place in which we give our whole lives over to him to do whatever he wants with our lives. Because I'm going to heaven, I give them all. All, Jesus paid it all. All to him, I owe. Debtor.

23:29 Debtor. And not only debtor to the Lord, but notice else. Look at verse 14. Debtor... Actually, the the last word of verse 13, I wanna I wanna have some fruit among you even as among other Gentiles.

23:45 Interesting word, this word, Gentiles, you know, all non Jews. He... This guy was a Jew of the Jews. This guy was... I'm a Jew of the Jews, a Pharisee of the Pharisee.

23:57 And he's writing to whom? Those Rome, those people in Rome. Okay. He's writing to Rome. And notice what he says.

24:08 I mean, he hated Rome. I mean, about it. This is Rome. It's like somebody coming in here in The United States and taking us over. Taking us over.

24:17 You think you're gonna like that? No, I hate that. That's exactly what it is. And so he's writing to those Christians in Rome. I am debtor.

24:27 I am debtor. To whom though? Who does he owe? Who does he owe? Wow.

24:40 Notice what he says. Both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. Somebody calls you a barbarian when you're eating, don't take it as a compliment. They were nasty. Barbarians were nasty.

25:00 I don't care what Capital One says in their commercials. You know, they're so cute. Aren't they just so cute? They weren't cute, they'd kill you. Strip your skin off.

25:11 Do all this kind of stuff. They didn't... I mean, horrible people. And notice what he says. I'm...

25:19 And the Greeks, the Greeks were the intelligentsia. Oh, yes. I don't think they spoke with a British accent but, you know, but they they they were just the smart people. They were like, oh, yes. Fantastic.

25:32 Yes. Oh, yeah. We're we're we're going to Aristotle, Plato. We just sit and talk and philosophize and all this kind of stuff. And this...

25:42 Aren't we wonderful? It's just fantastic. And he says, no. It's... I'm both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.

25:50 Those who were very wise and those who aren't was so wise. So does this seem like he's indebted to everybody? Does it seem like he's indebted to everybody that's breathing? I owe them. I owe them.

26:07 Does it seem that way? I am debtor both to the wise, to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise. I think that Paul thought of himself. I think that Paul thought of himself as like an Ezekiel, the watchman, like an Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter three, you see that the watchman is warned and he...

27:03 What does he mean? I think that Paul just thought of himself as one of those... That watchman on the wall and not warning the wicked of his wicked way. And I think that Paul was terrified to fail God. I think...

27:21 That's why I think when he writes into the Corinthians, he says, they're talking about the judgment seat of Christ. In the next verse after he talks about the judgment seat of Christ, he says then, he says, therefore, knowing the terror of the lord, we persuade men. He's not talking about the terror of the lord on the lost. He's talking about having to stand before this judge at the judgment seat of Christ not to go to heaven, not to go to hell, but how he has used his life for God that he would fail God and that was a terror to him. See with with Paul, it's it's not a game.

28:03 It's not... I'm not gonna go down to this guy and this girl down here in this wonderful high high, you know, high income neighborhood and go, wow, you know, you'd I tell you what, Jesus Christ can really add a lot to your life. Isn't that fantastic? No. That's not the message of the Bible and that's not the message of Paul.

28:22 The message of Paul to those people, to everybody that's breathing is, you don't believe on Jesus Christ as your personal savior, you will burn forever in the lake of fire. You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or you will perish. And we're so used to John three sixteen, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish. Where? Perish where?

28:55 Paul in second Thessalonians chapter one verse nine, he says, they were having ever... They will be banished from... With everlasting destructions from the presence of the Lord. Ever being destroyed but never being consumed. II Thessalonians one nine.

29:14 It's no game. People are dying all over the world and sometimes as Christians, we don't even care. I hate to say it. I remember one time, one time we were in New York City and I was taking a team from Word of Life. We're gonna do evangelism in Times Square.

29:37 And as we're... I'm leading them to go to... To get them to go to the bathroom before we go into Times Square, I step over this guy. I step over. He's right in the middle of the sidewalk on a manhole cover.

29:49 And I step over him like it was nothing. And I'm I'm walking, I'm going, wait a second, is that guy even alive? It was like I was stepping over a quart of water or something. Well, not, you know, somewhat. And I mean, I'm thinking, woah, what is this?

30:07 And I went and checked his pulse and you know, there's a long story to this. But I thought to myself, how insensitive can I be? Pretty insensitive, like pretty good. I can I can really be insensitive? I don't want to be insensitive.

30:28 I think that sinful behavior on my part. Debtor. Debtor. Do we realize our debt to the Lord and to the lost? You owe them.

30:43 I owe them. My dear brothers and sisters, we owe them. It's not a game. It is life and death for people. Boys and girls, moms and dads, teenagers, college age.

31:01 It's life and death. And we must bring life to them. Debtor, we owe them. And not only that, not only do we must real... Not only was Paul a debtor, but he was also deliberate.

31:18 Notice verse 15 of Romans chapter one. Notice verse 15. He said, So as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. He was unreservedly deliberate. I'm ready to preach the gospel to you.

31:37 So as much as in me is, I think of these athletes, the strain that just... They just give it all they've got. So as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. How much is in you? How much is there?

32:01 So as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are wrong also. What I desire of God, and I'm asking God for this for my own life, is that I can see the lost the way He sees them and never get over it. I want this. I want to see people the way God sees them and not ever get over it. I want to see them the reality of it.

32:26 And I don't want to see their clothes. I don't care about how cool they look or how bad they look. I want to see them how God... How they look to God and not get over this. How about we pray that?

33:09 We can talk about techniques. I can show you the three rope trick. We can talk about... But if we don't have a heart for it, it's over. If we don't have a heart to reach people, we can have all the programs we want.

33:31 And it's over. It just it just won't... We won't have any passion for it. We'll be going through. This is what we do as Christians.

33:43 This is how we... It's it's way more than this is what we do as Christians. We need a good dose of passion. This is what we need. We need this.

34:00 I've got a smartphone. I got an iPad. I've got Olive Tree on there. I've got... I can look up the Greek.

34:06 I can look I got logos on my iPad. I got all this kind of stuff. I got books. I got more books in my in... On my iPad than I do in my library.

34:17 And I'm thinking to myself, this is fantastic. This is wonderful. But I don't need another book. I need to love God more than my own life. And I need to love them and give them the gospel more than my own life.

34:32 This will count forever. Not my iPad. That will count forever. And this is what I want. And that's the measure of a life.

34:49 That's what will be looked at. He was unreservedly, so as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome. And he was also not only unreservedly deliberate, but unbiasedly deliberate. Preach the gospel to you that are Rome also. We have a lot of biases.

35:12 I don't wanna I don't wanna talk to that person. They're scary looking. I don't wanna talk to that person they smell. I don't want to talk to that person because of this. I don't want to talk to that person.

35:23 They can't add anything to our assembly. If we're working it from that point... Vantage point, we're in trouble. We don't want people to come to Christ so they can come to this assembly. We want them to come to Christ so they can go to heaven.

35:41 If they happen to come to this assembly, praise God. It's a great assembly. But we want them to come to Christ. Down and outers, up and the uppers, it doesn't matter. It does not matter.

35:57 This is what we need to do, unbiasedly. And I think of myself of a guy, you know, he wrote a... He brought a gift to Paul. He ministered to Paul. And he was their representative from the church of Philippi.

36:15 And he writes a thank you note. Paul writes a thank you note. And he talks about this elder named Epaphroditus. He talks about this elder named Epaphroditus. And he says he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

36:35 Philippians chapter two verse 30. And that's exactly what it is. And so as much as in me is, and I think to myself unbiasedly and unreservedly deliberate. I mean, in that same verse, in the same chapter, Paul writes this and JB Phillips translates it. The King James puts it this way.

37:00 He says in verse 20, he says, for I have no man like mine who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. J. B. Phillips translates this, translates the New Testament from the original languages and he translates it this way. He says, all the others seem to be wrapped up in their own affairs and do not really care for the business of Jesus Christ.

37:26 What an indictment. All the others seem to be wrapped up in their own affairs and do not really care for the business of Jesus Christ. People ask me, how do I... I I don't know how to evangelize. How do I...

37:44 You know, I don't have the gift of evangelism. I don't have it, Chris. So that it kind of like exempts me, doesn't it? My retort to that is fake it. Fake the whole thing.

37:55 Fake... Act like you got the gift of evangelism. God will forgive you. Act like you gotta get tracks hanging out of your pocket. Wear the shirts.

38:06 I don't care. You know, even wear a sandwich time. Faint the whole thing, but by all means, do the work of an evangelist. This is what we're commanded. This is exactly what we're commanded to do.

38:41 Verse sixteen and seven, I am not ashamed. He's dedicated. I'm not ashamed, dedicated to the person. Look at verse, not ashamed of what? I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

38:53 I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. How many times have we shrinked back? How many times have we shrinked back when we had opportunity to tell somebody about Christ because it might not benefit us or we're wondering if they'll like us or for whatever reason. Oh, don't do this. It could go bad for your...

39:24 With your family. They might not understand. Oh, don't do this. Don't talk to somebody about Christ because don't do this. Oh, no.

39:33 And I think satan and his demons are right in our ear whispering saying, oh yeah, it's gonna cost you. It's gonna cost you. They're gonna hate your guts. They're gonna hate you. Jesus said, if they hated me, they will hate you.

39:52 A servant is not greater than his lord. So why all of a sudden we're surprised by this? They crucified incarnate love. What are they gonna do to us? Us sinful individuals who are trying to obey God.

40:12 He was dedicated to the person of Christ. He was dedicated to the power of Christ. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. There is nothing else except the gospel that'll change the human heart. It's not the program.

40:33 It's not asked. It's not how to win friends and influence people. It's not all that. It is Jesus Christ. He's the only one that can change the human heart.

40:44 It's Jesus Christ is the only one that can take a person to heaven. He's the only one dedicated to the power, is the power of God unto salvation. We love power. People love political power. People love this kind of power, that kind of power.

41:06 The only true power, the only true power is the power of God unto salvation. That's really the only truth. The true power. True power. I mean, I I've got friends of mine that mention they can bench, they can squat, they can do all that kind of stuff.

41:27 They can run fast, they're fast, they can hit, then knock you till tomorrow. All this kind of stuff. You can dunk a basketball, they can sky, the hang times like twenty minutes, you know, they're just incredible. Incredible athletes, all this kind of thing. Right?

41:42 That's powerful. It's nothing. Well, we can build a bomb. It's nothing compared to the dynamite that god gives us in the gospel. The power of god and the salvation.

41:59 He was dedicated to this power. And it's really interesting. It was it was power in the midst of weakness. And he says that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

42:25 God has chosen that we would go and we would go and tell people about Christ and people would see how weak and feeble and how bad we are and all this and how God changed our lives and all these and we'd say, wow, if God can do it with you, God can do it with me. And then that is salt and light. Power of God in the midst of this weakness. And then also he was dedicated not to the... Not only to the person and the power, but also the proclamation, to everyone that believeth.

43:03 Wow. Everyone that believes. There is no shortage here. It's not like I'm running out of people to talk to. If that's true, then move to a more densely populated neighborhood.

43:25 If you've talked to everybody in your neighborhood, that's great. Maybe just get in that car and talk to other people. Dedicated to the proclamation. Everyone that believeth. And then how about this one, the provision.

43:42 And, you know, and it's also to the Jew first and also to the Greek. It's, you know, to those who are religious and those who aren't religious, who are intellectual. And then notice the program or the provision. It is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. For the just shall live by faith.

44:33 I go to heaven because Jesus Christ died for me and rose again from the dead for me. When I believe on him, he gives me that righteousness because he took my sinfulness and it's the exchanged life. He paid as a substitute for me that I can go to heaven. He was dedicated to that provision. And then notice the program here.

45:05 It doesn't say Iwana, does it? And it doesn't say evangelism explosion. It says the just shall live by faith. I think a person who is trusting Jesus Christ as their personal savior, not only to get to heaven, but also in terms of living the life, every moment is one of the greatest programs you could ever have. I'm not...

45:36 I'm four zero one. We have one in our assembly. It's fantastic. Many people have come to Christ. Praise God for that.

45:41 I praise God for evangelism explosion. I praise god for the ability to go out and tell us on how to do it and teach us and to move and to do that kind of stuff but we still have to trust god. The just shall live by faith. That's used three times, I believe, three or four times. Three times.

45:59 Habakkuk, Galatians, and here. And there's one other place, Romans. That's right. Four times. And it's interesting.

46:07 The just shall live by faith. The emphasis as you go through it, the emphasis is different in every book. By faith. The just shall live by faith. How do we live our life?

46:24 We live it by faith. This is exactly what we do. This is exactly how it is. CT Stud, are you familiar with this guy? CT Stud was an individual who is just amazing to me.

46:39 I think it's where DL Moody preached one time and see a CT Stud as a boy was up in the rafters. He was up in the rafters listening to this great evangelist, D. L. Moody, who died in 1899. So you know it was a little earlier than this in England.

46:53 He's listening to this guy, this D. L. Moody guy, and he comes and trusts Christ as his personal savior, This CT stud. He was a cricketer. He was from the...

47:06 They called him the Eden five or something, or seven. And they... He was a he was a championship cricketer. That's like baseball for us, you know. And he would do that.

47:16 If we were in the West Indies, they'd go crazy in cricket. England, they'd crazy. They're playing all this. They're big cricketers. Right?

47:23 He was a cricketer. He was wealthy, inherited £2,500,000 sterling. Even today, it's $2.50 of our dollar to a pound. So how many... Let's see.

47:37 It's it's a lot of lot of money. A lot of cash. Right? £2,500,000. And you know what he does?

47:46 God calls him to go to Africa. You know what he does? He banks it and lives off the interest. Right? No.

47:56 He gives the whole thing away. He gives every last pound away and then goes on the field and he makes this comment, you cannot trust God too much. He lived it. The just shall live by faith. This is it.

48:18 So we look at this. We look at the, you know, Paul being deader, being deliberate, being dedicated. We need to incorporate these three characteristics into our life. We need to do this. Ednaiah Judson graduated from college and seminary and he received the call to a fashionable church in Boston to become its assistant pastor.

48:52 Everyone congratulated him. His mother and his sister rejoiced that he could live at home and live with him to do his work. But Judson shook his head and said, no. This is not my calling. I am not called to hear.

49:06 God has called me other places. And if I stayed here, I'd be only in partial obedience which is really disobedience. And he left and he went to Burma And it was estimated over 50,000 Burmese trusted Christ because of Judson. And the influence of his consecrated life was felt around the world. We'd say we go but we never go.

49:53 I think of that Moravian missionary who went to Cuba and worked in the canes of the sugar fields... The sugar field canes, and and he wanted to witness to those slaves that were... This is way before Fidel Castro. This is way long time ago. This Moravian missionary.

50:16 And he went and he couldn't minister to him. He didn't know what to do. They'd come in from the fields into the camp and he tried to minister. They were so exhausted. They just didn't hear him.

50:26 And for months, tried to minister and minister and minister without success. And he probably started praying and said, God, what do you want me to do? How can I reach these people? And God gave me the answer. And he went to the plantation owner and sold himself into slavery so he could work among them and be with them and be like them And give them the gospel.

51:09 That's passion. That's passion. Why do we say we ask God for this? Let's ask God for it. With a heart ready to receive it.

51:26 Because I want his love and passion. We sing a song channels only blessed master. I want this in and through my life. I want my life to count. How about you?

52:15 Help us, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you.